UNDERCOVER SS26 Merges Past, Present, and Future With Nostalgic Elegance
Revisiting his beloved “But Beautiful” collection from FW04, Jun Takahashi brought together a variety of collaborators, from Welsh artist Emma Bennett to workwear brand Dickies.
Summary
- Jun Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER has returned to Paris Fashion Week to present its Spring/Summer 2026 men’s collection
- Titled “but beautiful 4.5…”, it pays homage to the beloved “But Beautiful” from FW04, which was the subject of UNDERCOVER’s women’s collection for Fall/Winter 2025
- The 51-look range features collaborations with Emma Bennett, OTW by Vans, Dickies, and Champion
Jun Takahashi has once again returned to Paris Fashion Week, offering a look at what to expect from UNDERCOVER’s Spring/Summer 2026 men’s collection via a lookbook and showroom.
The range, titled “but beautiful 4.5…”, recounts Takahashi’s “But Beautiful” for Fall/Winter 2004, reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens. This approach was also used for UNDERCOVER’s women’s collection for Fall/Winter 2025, and again sees a wide variety of silhouettes, often using curved seams, adorn models. Familiar motifs are scattered throughout, including nods to singer Patti Smith, whose lyrics to “People Have The Power” are spread across various garments.
Collaborations play a key role in the 51-look range, starting with artwork from Welsh painter Emma Bennett, connecting seamlessly to the otherworldliness of Takahashi’s work that fans have appreciated over the course of UNDERCOVER’s 30 years. Both Champion and OTW by Vans are back with more co-designed works, including takes on the latter’s Slip-On and Sk8-Hi silhouettes. Meanwhile, Dickies is a newcomer to the UNDERCOVER universe, offering up its arsenal of workwear for Takahashi to reimagine with graceful curved seams that contrast delightfully with Dickies’ rugged DNA.
Enjoy a preview of the 51-look collection above and stay tuned for launch details regarding UNDERCOVER’s SS26 “but beautiful 4.5…” as we expect it, and the various collaborations featured, to launch at different points throughout the first half of next year.
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